Percabeth and the Search for Chiron
by Percabethlovefromabove
Summary: When Chiron goes missing, Percy must take on a monster so sly and elusive he has evaded even the most powerful Olympians. The only thing that the Gods have discovered, the monsters next target; Perseus Jackson. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING... EXCEPT A FEW OC... THEY COME IN CHAPTER 2...
1. Chapter 1

Percy

"Hey," I sent gentle waves in her direction. "Come on! We're going to be late for breakfast!"

I tried to sound urgent, but looking at Annabeth sleeping in the waves, part of me wanted to freeze this moment in time, just the two of us, together. The other part of me, (the far less fun part) told me that we would be in MAJOR trouble if they didn't show up soon, like, within the next half-hour, to the big house.

"Percy?"

I smiled at her and tapped my watch, (hand-crafted by my half-brother, Tyson) signaling that we had to go.

Late last night we had come out here to the water, and I had prepared for her a (literal) waterbed. We watched the stars for awhile, before she drifted off, her hair streaming in the water, like gold.

I almost climbed into her "bed", but realized both Poseidon AND Athena could be watching, and I figured neither would be very happy.

"Shoot! Percy, why didn't you wake me sooner! Gods, I HATE being late!"

I shrugged, trying in vain to hide the amusement I was feeling. "You're cute when you sleep."

As expected she shot me a look, but all I could see was her eyes. They held so many secrets, so many surprises. They held my gaze for a short period of time, so full of defiance that I started to laugh.

"Would you care to bring me back to shore?" Annabeth tried to suppress her uncharacteristic giggles. "Or are you going to let me miss the meeting?"

Her face help all the confusion I felt. We hadn't had a council meeting in a long time, and we had come to the general conclusion that once again our short-lived peace would be broken, again.

I gently steered the patch of water towards shore, and swam after her. Neither of us were wet, so it was unnecessary to change.

We walked into the meeting. Late. I was expecting the usual meeting, demigod counselors around a pingpong table, all yelling over each other to get there point across.

What I did not expect was my father, sitting on a chair on the left wall, reading a fishing magazine.

He looked up and his face held a seriousness I had not seen before. "Perceus, Annabeth, I'm glad you're here."

For once Annabeth was speechless. As for myself, I can't say that I wasn't surprised. And fairly worried. Gods don't usually make a habit of visiting their children unless something bad was coming.

"I would love to say that I'm here just to visit you Percy, I would. But I have a much darker matter on mind. Chiron has gone missing, and we believe whatever took him has a new target: Perseus Jackson"

And with that, Annabeth Chase fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

Annabeth

"Annabeth, we can't wait. It has to be now," Percy was pacing around the room, looking extremely agitated. "You can't worry about me, we need to think of Chiron and the rest of the campers."

"I..." I was SUPPOSED to be the wise one, right? So why was it now, when the need is greatest, that I faltered? Well, I actually knew the answer to that one. Because of Percy. Not that I didn't love Chiron, he is practically my second father, but ever since Percy disappeared two years I really started to understand how much of Percy is permanently embedded into myself.

Every time I look at water I think of him. New York, the Hoover Dam, the Arch... all practically screamed PERCY JACKSON WAS HERE. The thought that he might be gone forever terrified me more than anything, even spiders. "I guess you're right."

He smiled at my resigned tone. I supposed it was only so often that I told him he was right. "So, Wise Girl," He began gently, "what's the game plan? I mean you do have one, right?"

"Athena always has a plan." I replied. "First we have to find some one to watch the campers. Mr. D. would probably turn all of them into dolphins. We shouldn't tell all of them why we are leaving, some will likely try to sneak off to help."

Percy smiled, no doubt remembering the time we had snuck off for a quest. "Then what?"

"Well, we ask Rachel for a quest." Rachel was our oracle. At least, in the summer.

"Then we wing it?" Percy almost sounded hopeful, like we might get back to running around America fighting monsters, like when we were kids.

"Yep, pretty much." I hate that I couldn't formulate a plan past that, but -gods forbid Percy should ever hear- even I can't think of every possibility.

He looked nervous, standing there. We needed to get out of camp- and fast.

"So, who can watch camp?" Percy spoke abruptly, as if to break the silence.

"Maybe one of the older campers, Malcolm, maybe? Or, maybe if the Hunters aren't doing anything, I can't think of anyone better than Thalia to guard the camp."

"So, do you want me to IM her, or what?"

"Yeah." As he left I was still thinking about the quest. There was too much to lose. Chiron and Percy, well, without them I'm fairly certain I would die. I was so close to tears it wasn't funny. The closest I had come to crying in the past six years was when I broke my ankle. I heard Percy coming up the hill. I regained my composure, refusing to show weakness.

"How did it go?" I tried to sound cheerful

Percy studied my face and frowned. He obviously sensed something was wrong, but wisely chose not to comment. "She's coming."

Percy

We sat waiting for Thalia.

We had consulted Rachel, and our quest was set. The prophecy was troubling, but the first rule of being a demigod was to never try to change your fate.

**_Imprisoned in a place down under_**

**_the centaur saved by heroes's blunder_**

**_No victory is without cost_**

**_to save the world a soul is lost_**

The last line sounded _way _too much like my "fatal flaw". Athena had once told me that to save a friend I would I destroy the world. I pushed the idea far from my mind.

I attempted to talk to Annabeth, but stayed on "safe" subjects; school, architecture, mainly. I avoided talking about camp, or the quest we would soon embark on. Even so, the conversation went like this;

Me: "So, how's school?"

Her: "Huh? Oh, yeah, good."

Me: "Cool. Design a building or something lately?"

Her: "Yeah, it's tall."

Then she would turn her back. It when on like this for about an hour, before Thalia arrived, complete with her gang of silvery hunters. They were pretty, in a "I WILL kill you if you hit on me" kind of way. Not that I would ever do that, I prefer the kind of girl who is smart and can fight with a blade. I prefer a girl who can show me up, but make me laugh at the same time. So, Annabeth, really.

"I hope this is good. I have better things to do that babysit these demigods." Thalia's voice was reproving, but her eyes gleamed. "Not really, but seriously, what's up?"

Annabeth shot a nervous look at me, like _you didn't TELL her?! _

I got the feeling she was expecting me to explain. "Umm, well..." I fidgeted with my pen-sword, Riptide, half nervousness, half force of habit, "My dad came and saw me this morning-" and I told her my story.

When I was done a hunter whispered "Thalia, the prophecy, you don't think-"

"Silence, Courtney!" Thalia looked at her with eyes the color of rain, not summer rain that gently falls, but the kind you get during Hurricane season, where it beats the crap out of everything in it's way.

Courtney shrugged, though she still looked worried. She caught my eye and mouthed _come see me tonight, okay? _ That was weird. Most hunters would kill you for just holding the door open for them.

I mouthed back _Okay, why?_ She was about to reply, but Thalia noticed me moving my lips. She frowned deeply, her eyes bored deeply into me, then at Courtney. She must have put it off as nerves, because she shook her head and smiled again.

"So you want me to watch the camp. Okay, I don't think we have anything planned. Sophie?" Thalia addressed a skinny girl with bleach blonde hair in the front.

Sophie smiled and pulled out an I-Phone from her parka pocket. She typed in the lock code and flicked through several events on her planner until she got to the current week. "Nothing scheduled, ma'am. In fact, my planner says that the Lady has a meeting all week and we have _strict orders _to stay somewhere safe."

Thalia grinned "I can't think of any safer place to stay but here, can you guys?"

Most of them were not very happy. The Hunters do not typically stay at camp, and they all shunned the company of men, so staying really struck a nerve. But a select few, Sophie, Courtney, Thalia and a few others, had been campers before they joined the group, and camp was truly a second home.

"Personally I believe that this _boy _should not tell us what to do," scorned one girl. She had red hair, like RED hair. I resisted the urge to make a comment about how that might affect her stealth, figuring it wouldn't help the situation much.

Thalia clenched her teeth and replied "Personally, I think you should shut up, Kenzie, because no one cares."

I almost said something like _real mature girls _but, then again, they both had bows, and I knew Kenzie would use it.

"Girls, to the Artemis cabin. I need a private word with my friends." Thalia put an emphasis on _friends_ so they wouldn't assume anything was going on between us.

As soon the Hunters left earshot Thalia said "Oh gods Annabeth, I'm sorry!"

I wanted to scream. I wanted my mom to tell me it was okay, that everything would be fine. But I knew it wouldn't be. Chiron was gone. I was probably going to die. But Annabeth had been there for me for the last six years. I needed to be there for her now. Period.

Annabeth was now openly crying. I put my arm around her gently, and asked her if it was okay if I left for a bit. I told her I had to go to the bathroom. She smiled a bit "Fine Seaweed Brain, but don't be too long." I saw the worry in her eyes.

"I'll be fine Wise Girl." I walked towards the bathrooms, but then veered off towards the Artemis cabin. Courtney was waiting, clearly anxious for me to get there.

"What's up?"

She was quick. In the time it took me to finish my sentence she had nocked an arrow and aimed it at my throat. She saw me and lowered the bow. "Sorry."

"It's fine. So What did you want to tell me?"

"Well, that's the complicated part. You see, a while ago when I had just started being a Hunter-"

"Which was..." It was probably deathly rude to interrupt her, but with the ageless Hunters you could never tell how old they were.

Im not that old, you know. Anyway, a girl named Angelie was lieutenant then. She set off to hunt the very same monster you seek now."

"But I thought nobody knew anything about it!" I protested.

She smiled "No, no one knows it's name. Those are two very different things. Well, we know this through attack patterns. Mortals have caught on to this surprisingly well, but their way is not fool proof. They do not understand that to accurately uncover the beast, you must look at relatives of the victim." She noticed my blank stare. She muttered something in Greek that sounded like _idiot men_. "Who do both you and Chiron love, so much that you would never heal if they should die?"

It hit me like a ton of bricks. No. It wasn't possible. She was too strong.

They were going after Annabeth. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and protect her from every harm in the world, but I didn't get the chance.

Just then I heard her scream.


	3. Chapter 3

I rushed to her aid, like a knight in shining armor. Okay, not really. I ran up the hill, tripped over my shoelaces, and hit my head. By the time I got up the hill Annabeth was gone. Thalia was on the hill, screaming and swearing. She saw me and stood up, wiping the tears roughly from her eyes. "She was h-h-h-here a-a-and then th-th-th-there wa-a-a-as a-a-a cyc-l-l-lopes, a-a-and she scr-r-r-reamed, a-a-and she disa-a-a-apeared!"

I held her close to me. It felt weird, because technically Thalia was older than me. But even though I am 18, she still looks 15 or 16.

"Shhhh, it'll be okay Thals, it'll be fine." That was probably the biggest and most obvious lie I ever told. But what do you do when to worlds most powerful demigod is crying next to you? I didn't have many options, you know?

She smiled at me through her tears. "You really are an idiot, you know that, right?"

"I'd have to be dead to not know it." Okay, that definitely was not the best word choice. Thalia once again started crying, sobs wracking her body until she just laid down on the grass and wept softly. The Hunters stood awkwardly around. They had probably never seen Thalia cry, and this was A LOT of crying.

"Guys, do you want to like lead her back to the cabin? I don't think it's safe for us to be to close to camp boundaries anymore." The Hunters complied, grateful for having something to too. I walked down the hill, convincing the other campers to go back to their cabins. I walked aimlessly around camp, stopping in the strawberry fields. Dionysus was nowhere to be seen. I was trying to figure out whether this was a good or bad thing, after all, as much as I hate him, he is a god, when I heard Sophie call to me.

"Thalia wants to talk to you, and fast."

We ran, and I avoided tripping over random objects strewn around various areas of the camp; a pile of four or five drachmas left by the lava wall, a basket ball that had rolled into the volleyball court, a shoe someone had most likely lost when they heard Annabeth scream.

We reached the Artemis cabin, and I saw Thalia, looking strong and composed as usual. She was straight to the point, which was nice. Don't get me wrong, but Thalia crying was weird. Of course I sympathize with her, but Thalia DIDN'T cry. It felt wrong, she was to tough. But then again, so was Annabeth, and now she's gone.

I felt a wave of emotion, but at the familiar tugging feeling in my gut I calmed down. Emotions that were too strong triggered my powers. I had long since learned to harness and control my powers, but sometimes I snapped.

"I'm going on the quest with you." Yep, Thalia was definitely back to normal.

"Are you? You would think I would know this?" I smiled at her to show her I was kidding. The last thing I needed was an electric shock.

"I'm taking Annabeth's place. And we are taking Courtney." She had already made up her mind, clearly.

"Where do we go though? Down under- Where? Under America, North America, the Underworld?"

"You're so dumb. Down Under, AUSTRALIA IDIOT!

"Down under Australia? What's under there? Like, a prison, or-"

"Australia is CALLED down under... Why do you keep his company Thalia? So stupid."

"That will be enough Kenzie." Thalia glared at the red-head. She muttered, "Why Artemis let her join, I will never know."

"So, we go to Australia, then...?" I felt useless. I couldn't save Chiron. I couldn't save Annabeth. And I can't make a stupid plan for my quest.

"I don't know. I guess we'll figure that out as we go." She looked stressed. Annabeth was her best friend. I don't know who would be hurt more if Annabeth dies, her or me. I put this thought aside. I can't let myself think of that possibility.

"Are your hunters watching camp while we are gone?"

"Yeah... I'm giving Sophie full charge, so Kenzie can't kill everyone."

In any other situation I would of laughed, but Hunters are pretty deadly, and with Kenzie, I think she would kill anyone who disagrees with her if left in charge.

"Are we leaving now?"

"Yeah, we are. COURTNEY!"

"All packed ma'am" replied the girl with an obedient nod of the head.

"So, we take a pla-"

"NO. NOT A PLANE!" Thalia shrieked.

A younger hunter, maybe twelve or thirteen, asked "Why not? Aren't you, like, a daughter of Zeus?" The question was innocent, except for one little thing.

Thalia is scared of heights.

I caught her though, "Of course she is, but we don't know what or where this creature is. We have to use some kind of transportation where it is easy to get off and run, or fight."

She gratefully smiled at me. "Yeah. Percy is right, we need to go on a, um... a boat?" She looked questioningly at me.

"Yeah, a boat would be good. Are we leaving now? I can call Blackjack, or we can take Rainbow and his friends."

"Call Rainbow and the others. COME ON COURTNEY!"

"CHILL OUT THALIA!" Courtney exclaimed in the same tone.

"COME ON GIRLS!" I exclaimed, mimicking both of them. They glared at me pointedly, and then turned and went towards the water. I rushed after them, not wishing to left behind.

When we got to the water I focused all my energy into calling the hippocampi. I hard the familiar _neighing _sound, and led my friends towards the beachfront. We mounted our rides and set off.

"Where to, Lieutenant Grace?"

She scowled at the use of her last name, but replied curtly "Tell Rainbow to bring us to Tyson's boat place. He'll know what I mean."

"Ummm, sure?" I silently relayed the message to rainbow, and he whinnied and galloped (can you call it galloping?) towards the open sea. We all were impatient to get Annabeth back, but, unfortunately, our impatience led us into a trap worthy of Hephaestus.


End file.
